Having Diffraction Grating Means Patents (Class 356/328)
  • Patent number: 11674908
    Abstract: Optical system includes a front group, light-shielding member, and rear group that are arranged in this order in direction from object side toward image side. The light-shielding member is provided with opening elongated in first direction. The front group does not image the object at the opening in first section parallel to the first direction and forms intermediate image of the object at the opening in second section perpendicular to the first direction. The rear group has diffractive surface that splits light beam that passes through the opening into light beams at different wavelengths in the second section and focuses the light beams on different locations in the second section. Light beam that is emitted from the front group 11 and that enters the opening is non-parallel light in the first section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroki Yoshida, Kazumi Kimura, Genichiro Kudo, Hiroto Kano
  • Patent number: 11639874
    Abstract: Spectrometers include an optical assembly with optical elements arranged to receive light from a light source and direct the light along a light path to a multi-element detector, dispersing light of different wavelengths to different spatial locations on the multi-element detector. The optical assembly includes: (i) a collimator arranged in the light path to receive the light from the light source, the collimator including a mirror having a freeform surface; (2) a dispersive sub-assembly including an echelle grating, the dispersive sub-assembly being arranged in the light path to receive light from the collimator; and (3) a Schmidt telescope arranged in the light path to receive light from the dispersive sub-assembly and focus the light to a field, the multi-element detector being arranged at the field.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2023
    Assignee: PerkinElmer Health Sciences, Inc.
    Inventor: David M. Aikens
  • Patent number: 11624906
    Abstract: An illumination system having a reduced z-dimensional profile, which is achieved by reflecting light out of plane relative to a light source that generated the light, is disclosed herein. This illumination system includes an IR illumination device, a collimating optic, a turning optic, and a waveguide. The turning optic is specially configured to receive IR light from the IR illumination device and to reflect the IR light out of plane relative to the emission orientation of the IR illumination device. The reflected IR light is reflected towards the collimating optic. The waveguide is positioned in a fixed position relative to the collimating optic and includes an input port or grating to receive the collimated IR light. By reflecting light out of the plane, the size of the illumination system can be beneficially reduced in the z-direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2023
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Raymond Kirk Price, Yarn Chee Poon, Rachel N. Ulanch, Rashelle Kay Yee
  • Patent number: 11598669
    Abstract: An optical spectrum analyzer is provided that can separate measurement target light into orthogonal polarization components and perform measurement and enable optical spectrum measurement that does not depend on polarization of the measurement target light. Measurement target light is separated into two orthogonal polarization components, the two polarization components whose position is shifted in an engraved line direction of a diffraction grating are incident on the diffraction grating, diffracted light of the two polarization components emitted from the diffraction grating is condensed, and the condensed diffracted light is incident on an incident side end surface of a 2-core ferrule with the two polarization components adjacent to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2023
    Assignee: ANRITSU CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shinji Morimoto, Motohiro Banno, Taichi Murakami
  • Patent number: 11579423
    Abstract: A compact, catadioptric and athermal imaging spectrometer is disclosed. A telecentric light (1) incident from a slit (2) is folded or refracted by an object-side prism (3) to enter a plano-convex lens (4); after being refracted by the plano-convex lens (4) and a meniscus lens (5), and refracted and reflected by a thick catadioptric lens (6), said telecentric light is incident onto a convex grating (7) in the form of a convergent beam; and after said beam is diffracted, spectral division is implemented. The divergent beam is sequentially refracted and reflected by the thick catadioptric lens (6), and refracted by the meniscus lens (5) and the plano-convex lens (4) to enter an image-side prism (8). Said beam is folded or refracted and filtered, and imaged on a focal plane (10) to realize spectral imaging.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: SOOCHOW UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Jiacheng Zhu, Weimin Shen
  • Patent number: 11540722
    Abstract: An etalon-based mid-infrared probe can be configured for spectroscopic tissue discrimination, such as between non-normal (e.g., cancerous) and normal (e.g., healthy) tissue. A broadband light source can be applied to the etalon to generate fringes at spectroscopic wavelengths of interest, which can be delivered to a tissue specimen via a fiber loop probe. A response signal can be spectral dispersed across a parallel array of detector pixels, such as using a diffraction grating, and signal processed for performing the tissue classification. A learning model can be trained, using full IR spectral data, for applying a reduced set of wavelengths for performing the spectroscopic tissue analysis and classification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignee: Ohio State Innovation Foundation
    Inventor: James Coe
  • Patent number: 11536607
    Abstract: Optical spectrometers may be used to determine the spectral components of electromagnetic waves. Spectrometers may be large, bulky devices and may require waves to enter at a nearly direct angle of incidence in order to record a measurement. What is disclosed is an ultra-compact spectrometer with nanophotonic components as light dispersion technology. Nanophotonic components may contain metasurfaces and Bragg filters. Each metasurface may contain light scattering nanostructures that may be randomized to create a large input angle, and the Bragg filter may result in the light dispersion independent of the input angle. The spectrometer may be capable of handling about 200 nm bandwidth. The ultra-compact spectrometer may be able to read image data in the visible (400-600 nm) and to read spectral data in the near-infrared (700-900 nm) wavelength range. The surface area of the spectrometer may be about 1 mm2, allowing it to fit on mobile devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Radwanul Hasan Siddique, Daniel Assumpcao, Hyuck Choo, Hyochul Kim
  • Patent number: 11530984
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a spectrometer comprising a spectral decomposition device and a radiation detector. These components are configured such that the spectral decomposition device can break up an incident electromagnetic measuring radiation into components in a wavelength-dependent manner. The radiation detector can measure the intensity of at least one of these components. The spectrometer is configured such that the spectrometer transmits analysis information from the analysis of a food or of a food component to a food preparation device and/or outputs it to the user via an output device. The present disclosure further relates to a system including a control device as well as to a method. In this way, a reproducible cooking result as well as an output of the nutritional values and the actual energy content of the prepared food can be made possible.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2022
    Inventors: Robert Frielinghaus, Hendrik Koetz
  • Patent number: 11525784
    Abstract: An identification apparatus 1000 includes a light collecting unit 20 configured to collect scattered light from a sample, spectroscopic elements 150l and 150h configured to disperse light from the light collecting unit 20, an imaging unit 170 that includes a plurality of light detection elements arrayed in a row direction 172r and a column direction 172c and to which optical spectra from the spectroscopic elements 150l and 150h are projected along the row direction 172r, and an acquisition unit 30 configured to acquire spectral information about the sample based on an output signal from the imaging unit 170. The optical spectra corresponding to the sample are projected to the imaging unit 170 discontinuously in at least one of the row direction 172r and the column direction 172c.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2022
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yuki Yonetani
  • Patent number: 11506535
    Abstract: Configurations for a diffraction grating design and methods thereof are disclosed. The diffraction grating system can include an input waveguide located at a first location on or near a Rowland circle and multiple output waveguides located at a second and third location on or near the Rowland circle. The input waveguide may be located between the output waveguides and this configuration of input and output waveguides can reduce the footprint size of the device. In some examples, the optical component can function as a de-multiplexer. Additionally, the optical component may separate the input wavelength band into two output wavelength bands which are separated from one another by approximately 0.1 ?m.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Yongming Tu, Alfredo Bismuto
  • Patent number: 11497169
    Abstract: A feeding assembly for an agricultural vehicle includes: a frame; a rotatable auger supported by the frame and including at least one flighting; and a pickup assembly including a rotatable pickup reel and a plurality of tines rotatably carried by the pickup reel about a rotation axis, the tines being configured to pickup and convey crop material to the auger during rotation of the pickup reel. The pickup reel is movable relative to the auger such that movement of the pickup reel adjusts a distance between the rotation axis and the at least one flighting of the auger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: CNH Industrial America LLC
    Inventors: Ryan M. Figgins, David M. DeChristopher
  • Patent number: 11460344
    Abstract: A non-tracking solar sensor device and systems. The non-tracking solar sensor system includes a transparent hemispherical dome enclosure for receiving light. A diffuser is disposed with the enclosure for diffusing the light. A photodiode sensor array senses at least one discrete wavelength of the diffused light. A data acquisition module is configured to receive a sensor signal from the sensor array, the signal indicative of light quality at least one discrete wave band for processing via a processor module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC
    Inventors: Kenneth M. Armijo, Julius Yellowhair, Richard K. Harrison
  • Patent number: 11428788
    Abstract: Embodiments of this application disclose a laser measurement system and a laser radar. In one aspect, a laser measurement system includes N laser ranging components, a reflector, and MEMS micromirror. The N laser ranging components can emit an emergent light beam onto the reflector. The reflector can perform optical path reflecting on the emergent light beam and emit the reflected emergent light beam onto the MEMS micromirror. The MEMS micromirror can change a direction of the emergent light beam to implement two-dimensional scanning, change a direction of an echo light beam, and emit this beam onto the reflector. The reflector can perform optical path reflecting on the echo light beam and emit this beam onto the N laser ranging components. The N laser ranging components can receive the echo light beam and perform ranging based on a time difference between the emergent light beam and the echo light beam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Guangyuan Shi, Li Zeng, Xinhua Xiao
  • Patent number: 11385182
    Abstract: A LIBS system to detect constituent elements of interest within a sample from plasma light resulting from irradiation of this sample is presented. The LIBS system has a hybrid configuration which provides both a low-resolution spectrum of the plasma light covering a broad spectral range, and a high-resolution spectrum of the same plasma light over a narrow spectral range centered on a spectral line or feature of a constituent element of interest of the sample. In some implementations, the LIBS system has a portable design and can perform onsite sample analyses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Inventors: Paul Bouchard, Mohamad Sabsabi, Alain Blouin, Christian Padioleau
  • Patent number: 11385102
    Abstract: Optical system includes front group, light-shielding member, and rear group that are arranged from object side toward image side. The light-shielding member is provided with opening elongated in first direction. The front group has aspherical surface, does not image the object at the opening in first section parallel to the first direction, and forms intermediate image of the object at the opening in second section perpendicular to the first direction. The rear group has diffractive surface that splits light beam that passes through the opening into light beams at different wavelengths in the second section and focuses the light beams on different locations in the second section. The curvature radius of the aspherical surface in the second section at on-axis position in the first direction differs from that at outermost off-axis position in the first direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Genichiro Kudo, Hiroto Kano, Kazumi Kimura, Hiroki Yoshida
  • Patent number: 11378450
    Abstract: Systems and methods for measuring a fundamental mode vibrational spectrum of materials and substances in the Mid-IR spectral range of 2.5 ?m to 14 ?m wavelength. are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a Mid-infrared absorption spectrometer (MIRAS) system includes an infrared Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) single element emitter light source. The light source is electrically pulsed and emits electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range from 2.5 ?m to 14 ?m and has an integral energy concentrating optic to provide energy for a spectral absorption process. The system includes a scanning high-efficiency infrared spectral grating with self-calibrating feature, configured so that incident energy having absorption information for the spectral absorption process of a sample is within a predefined threshold of a grating blaze angle. The system also includes a single-element thermal detector to receive output energy having the absorption information from the infrared spectral grating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: LIGHTSENSE TECHNOLOGY, INC.
    Inventors: Wade Martin Poteet, Terje A. Skotheim
  • Patent number: 11372149
    Abstract: An apparatus with a grating structure and a method for forming the same are disclosed. The grating structure includes forming a wedge-shaped structure in a grating layer using a grayscale resist and photo lithography. A plurality of channels is formed in the grating layer to define slanted grating structures therein. The wedge-shaped structure and the slanted grating structures are formed using a selective etch process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2022
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Rutger Meyer Timmerman Thijssen, Ludovic Godet
  • Patent number: 11333649
    Abstract: A hyperspectral sensing device may include an optical collector configured to collect light and to transfer the collected light to a sensor having spectral resolution sufficient for sensing hyperspectral data. In some examples, the sensor comprises a compact spectrometer. The device further comprises a power supply, an electronics module, and an input/output hub enabling the device to transmit acquired data (e.g., to a remote server). In some examples, a plurality of hyperspectral sensing devices are deployed as a network to acquire data over a relatively large area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: Flying Gybe Inc.
    Inventor: Ivan Lalović
  • Patent number: 11327086
    Abstract: A sample measuring method of optically measuring a sample housed in a container in a sample measurement device, the method including: loading the container such that the container is shielded from light; starting to read information regarding a measurement to be performed on the sample in response to the loading the container; and measuring the sample based on the read information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2022
    Assignee: SYSMEX CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomoyuki Nose, Sayuri Tomoda, Yusuke Miida, Kazuyoshi Horii, Kenichiro Suzuki
  • Patent number: 11320369
    Abstract: In one embodiment, an agricultural sampling apparatus is provided. The apparatus comprising: a wave emitter; a wave transmitter configured to direct the waves from the wave emitter as a plurality of linewise waves to irradiate surface points of the agricultural sample; a dispersive element configured to receive waves arriving from the sample and deflect the arriving waves in at least two directions depending upon the wavelength of an arriving wave; and a detector configured with a plurality of detection elements disposed in at least two dimensions, the detector configured to convert the waves arriving from the dispersive element to a signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2022
    Assignee: DEERE & COMPANY
    Inventors: Georg Kormann, Wolfram Haiges, Peter Schade, Nico Correns, Bernhard Fischer, Fred Grunert
  • Patent number: 11314079
    Abstract: Provided is an optical deflector that detects an arbitrary deflection angle of a mirror part while avoiding the increase in the length of an optical sensor for detection of the deflection angle. An optical deflector 3 comprises: a mirror part 30 that has a flat reflection surface 38 and a grooved reflection surface 39, each of the flat reflection surface 38 and the grooved reflection surface 39 reflecting an incident light; and an actuator 32a to 32d that reciprocally turns the mirror part 30 about a rotation axis 36. The grooved reflection surface 39 has a plurality of longitudinal grooves 41 that extends parallel to the rotation axis 36. Each longitudinal groove 41 has a facing inclination surface 42a, 42b that is parallel to the rotation axis 36 and that has at least an opening-side portion of a facing inclination surface of a V-groove.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2022
    Assignee: STANLEY ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Mamoru Miyachi
  • Patent number: 11307021
    Abstract: A positioning unit mountable on a moving object includes at least one light source measuring unit and a processor. The light source measuring units have high directional sensitivity along a first axis and low directional sensitivity along a second axis orthogonal to the first axis to capture relative angular information of the moving object with respect to a plurality of simultaneously active stationary light sources located at multiple locations in a space. The processor determines positioning information of the moving object at least from the output of the at least one light source measuring unit. Each light source measuring unit includes an optical arrangement and a linearly configured imaging sensor to receive light from the stationary light sources through the optical arrangement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: Six Degrees Space Ltd
    Inventors: Daniel Greenspan, Klonymus Sholom Lieberman
  • Patent number: 11296798
    Abstract: There is a photovoltaic (PV) panel 10 including an array of photovoltaic (PV) elements (12). Each PV element (12) is stand alone and can be electronically addressed individually. The PV panel (10) also includes a number of spectral filters (14), in this example, a red filter (14r), a green filter (14g) and a blue filter (14b) arranged over some of the PV elements (12) to filter out the red, green and blue spectral components from white (combined red, green and blue) light emitted from a red-green-blue (RGB) transmitter. Data can be transmitted by modulating the spectral components of the RGB transmitter such that the data in each of the spectral components can be recovered from the electrical signal generated by the PV elements (12).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: The University Court of the University of Edinburgh
    Inventors: Stefan I. Videv, Harald Haas, Sovan Das
  • Patent number: 11280717
    Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for identifying contaminants in a semiconductor cleaning solution, including: contacting a semiconductor cleaning solution with a semiconductor manufacturing component to form an effluent including one or more insoluble analytes-of-interest; contacting the effluent including one or more insoluble analytes-of-interest with an optical apparatus configured to sense fluorescence and, optionally, Raman signals from the one or more insoluble analytes-of-interest, wherein the apparatus includes an electron multiplying charged couple device and a grating spectrometer to spectrally disperse the fluorescence and project the fluorescence on to the electron multiplying charged couple device; and identifying the one or more analytes of interest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
    Inventors: Prerna Goradia, Avishek Ghosh, Robert Jan Visser
  • Patent number: 11268853
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a multichannel broadband high-resolution spectrograph, comprising a plurality of light source incident slits, a multichannel integrated grating, a multichannel shared two-dimensional focus imaging mirror and a two-dimensional area array detector which are sequentially disposed along a light source incident or reflection line, wherein the multichannel integrated grating consists of a plurality of sub-gratings, incident light enters the corresponding integrated gratings along the light source incident slits and then is focused by the shared two-dimensional focus imaging mirror after diffraction of the integrated grating, and diffraction light in a full-spectrum region is incident onto a focal plane of the two-dimensional area array detector for detection. No any mechanical displacement part is disposed, multichannel, full-spectrum and high-speed detection and analysis is achieved, and the present disclosure has high spectrum resolution and working reliability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Inventors: Liangyao Chen, Songyou Wang, Haibin Zhao, Yuxiang Zheng, Rongjun Zhang, Yuemei Yang, Jianke Chen, Anqing Jiang
  • Patent number: 11268854
    Abstract: A spectrometer includes a substrate; a slit which is provided on the substrate and through which light is incident onto the substrate; a metasurface including nanostructures that is configured to reflect and focus the light incident thereon through the slit, at different angles based on respective wavelengths; and a sensor which is provided on one side of the substrate that is opposite to another side of the substrate at which the metasurface is disposed, and configured to receive the light from the metasurface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignees: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
    Inventors: Seunghoon Han, Amir Arbabi, Andrei Faraon, Ehsan Arbabi, Hyeonsoo Park
  • Patent number: 11268901
    Abstract: A collection system of a semiconductor metrology tool includes a chuck to support a target from which an optical beam is reflected and a spectrometer to receive the reflected optical beam. The collection system also includes a plurality of aperture masks arranged in a rotatable sequence about an axis parallel to an optical axis. Each aperture mask of the plurality of aperture masks is rotatable into and out of the reflected optical beam between the chuck and the spectrometer to selectively mask the reflected optical beam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: KLA Corporation
    Inventors: Barry Blasenheim, Noam Sapiens, Michael Friedmann, Pablo Rovira
  • Patent number: 11262237
    Abstract: A spectral analysis device is provided herein. The spectral analysis device includes a first lens, a transmission grating, a lens set and a sensing element. The first lens is configured to receive and converge an incident light beam into a first light beam. The transmission grating is configured to disperse the first light beam into a plurality of second light beams. The lens set is configured to receive the plurality of second light beams. The sensing element includes a substrate and a plurality of pixels. The plurality of pixels is configured to respectively receive the plurality of second light beam. Such structure is used to analyze the spectrum of incident light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: Chang Gung University
    Inventors: Meng Tsan Tsai, Tai Ang Wang, Cheng Yu Lee
  • Patent number: 11262293
    Abstract: System and method for use in optical monitoring of a sample. The system comprising: a light source unit (140) for providing collimated illumination; polarization modulation unit (160) located in optical path of light propagating from the light source unit; a lens unit (120) for focusing light onto an illumination spot on a surface of a sample, and for collection of light components returning from the sample; a light collection unit configured for collecting light returning from the sample and generate output image data associated with Fourier plane imaging with respect to surface of the sample; and a control unit (500) configured processing said data in accordance with said system calibration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Inventor: Ralfy Kenaz
  • Patent number: 11243115
    Abstract: Systems and methods for determining one or more properties of a sample are disclosed. The systems and methods disclosed can be capable of measuring along multiple locations and can reimage and resolve multiple optical paths within the sample. The system can be configured with one-layer or two-layers of optics suitable for a compact system. The optics can be simplified to reduce the number and complexity of the coated optical surfaces, et al. on effects, manufacturing tolerance stack-up problems, and interference-based spectroscopic errors. The size, number, and placement of the optics can enable multiple simultaneous or non-simultaneous measurements at various locations across and within the sample. Moreover, the systems can be configured with an optical spacer window located between the sample and the optics, and methods to account for changes in optical paths due to inclusion of the optical spacer window are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2022
    Inventors: Mark Alan Arbore, Gary Shambat, Matthew A. Terrel
  • Patent number: 11231319
    Abstract: Configurations for a diffraction grating design that mitigates thermal wavelength shifts and corresponding methods thereof are disclosed. The wavelength stability monitoring system may include a planar waveguide that receives input light directed toward a diffraction grating. The diffraction grating may reflect the light back through the planar waveguide and to one or more detectors. The planar waveguide may include multiple materials, such as a first material and a second athermal material that is adjacent to the first material. The athermal material may mitigate thermal wavelength shifts of the light. The design of the athermal material may include targeting a ratio of the input and output path lengths across sets of input and output angles of light that pass through the first material and the second athermal material. In some examples, the output waveguides may be positioned to receive leakage modes of light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Yongming Tu, Alfredo Bismuto
  • Patent number: 11231362
    Abstract: A system includes a light source, a Fourier transform infrared reflectometer (FTIR) spectrometer, and broadband reflectometer optics. The system is configured to measure polarized light and unpolarized reflectivities in a wavelength range from 2 ?m to 20 ?m. The light source can be a laser-driven light source. The spectroscopic reflectometer can include a single channel or two channels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignee: KLA Corporation
    Inventors: Guorong V. Zhuang, Shankar Krishnan, David Y. Wang, Xuefeng Liu, Mengmeng Ye, Dawei Hu
  • Patent number: 11219927
    Abstract: A system and method of sorting mineral streams, for example laterite mineral ores, into appropriately classified valuable and waste streams for maximum recovery of value from the mineral stream, e.g., a stream of minerals includes receiving response data indicating reflected, absorbed or backscattered energy from a mineral sample exposed to a sensor, where the mineral sample is irradiated with electromagnetic energy. The system determines spectral characteristics of the mineral sample by performing spectral analysis on the response data of the mineral sample and identifies a composition of the mineral sample by comparing the spectral characteristics of the mineral sample to previously developed spectral characteristics of samples of known composition. The system then generates a sort decision for the mineral sample based on the comparison, where the sort decision is used in diverting the mineral sample to a desired destination e.g. pyrometallurgical treatment stages, or to a waste stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2022
    Assignee: MineSense Technologies Ltd.
    Inventors: Andrew Sherliker Bamber, Nicholas Barcza, Andrew Csinger
  • Patent number: 11221322
    Abstract: A hyperspectral sensing device may include an optical collector configured to collect light and to transfer the collected light to a sensor having spectral resolution sufficient for sensing hyperspectral data. In some examples, the sensor comprises a compact spectrometer. The device further comprises a power supply, an electronics module, and an input/output hub enabling the device to transmit acquired data (e.g., to a remote server). In some examples, a plurality of hyperspectral sensing devices are deployed as a network to acquire data over a relatively large area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2022
    Assignee: Flying Gybe Inc.
    Inventor: Ivan Lalović
  • Patent number: 11207870
    Abstract: An optical window for an imaging system such as a Raman spectrometer, NIR spectrometer, fluorometer, or hyperspectral camera is configured to contact the subject. It includes: a substrate; and a flexible medium, where the flexible medium is configured to be deformed with substantially the same profile as that of the outer surface of the subject. The refractive index of the flexible medium and substrate is selected such that light collection efficiency and/or imaging quality returned to the measurement system increases after application of the optical window.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Assignee: OAK ANALYTICS INC
    Inventors: Ruibo Wang, Pawel Adam Menzfeld, James Frederick Gass
  • Patent number: 11201314
    Abstract: Embodiments of this invention relate to and, more particularly, to solid state lighting, digital displays, conversion of electrical energy to light, low onset gain saturated stimulate emission, light production with high efficiency and high output per area, and light production while limiting material degradation, and may also be applied in optical or quantum information processing and networking. Embodimenta of this invention comprise spectroscopic configurations having a radiative transition to a depopulated state and an optical configuration having sufficient Q such that the combination allows onset of gain saturation with a small excited state population or low current density, thus enabling production of light in a mode with near total output coupling, high efficiency, high output, low roll-off and attenuation of losses and degradation processes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2021
    Inventor: Mitchell C. Nelson
  • Patent number: 11193824
    Abstract: Methods, devices and systems provide improved spectral imaging and detection and can be implemented as compact, light-weight and low-cost devices. An example device includes a mask that includes a plurality of apertures and positioned to receive light from an object of interest. A first lenslet array is positioned to receive light that passes through the plurality of apertures. Each lenslet of the first lenslet array receives the light from a corresponding aperture and produces collimated light that is incident on a dispersive element, such as a diffraction grating or a prism, which produces a plurality of spectrally separated components. A second lenslet array receives the spectrally separated components and focuses each of the spectrally separated components onto an image plane, where a sensor is located. The information obtained from the sensor can be used to determine or analyze spectral characteristics of the object, which can be in gaseous form.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2021
    Assignee: ARIZONA BOARD OF REGENTS ON BEHALF OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
    Inventor: Rongguang Liang
  • Patent number: 11187582
    Abstract: Hyperspectal imagers including reflective and transmissive metasurfaces are disclosed. The described metasurfaces are used collectively to disperse and focus light of different wavelengths and incident angles on a focal plane. The disclosed devices are compact and light, and can be used in systems and applications requiring stringent form factors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
    Inventors: MohammadSadegh Faraji-Dana, Ehsan Arbabi, Andrei Faraon
  • Patent number: 11181420
    Abstract: Described are an apparatus and a method for manufacturing a three-dimensional body comprising mutually oriented devices. In accordance with the invention, a substrate having a first and a second substrate region is provided. A first device is provided in the first substrate region. A second device is provided in the first or in the second substrate region. The substrate is bent along at least one bending edge in order to obtain a three-dimensional body. In accordance with the invention, the first device and the second device are oriented to each other by the bending in order to provide a communications path between the same.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
    Inventors: Heinrich Grueger, Jens Knobbe, Tino Puegner
  • Patent number: 11173638
    Abstract: A molded product production system includes a powdery material mixing and feeding device configured to feed mixed powdery materials including at least two types of powdery materials, a filler configured to fill, with the mixed powdery materials fed by the powdery material mixing and feeding device, a die bore of a compression-molding machine, a sensor configured to measure a mixing degree of the mixed powdery materials fed by the powdery material mixing and feeding device, and a molded product removal mechanism configured to distinguish a molded product obtained by compression molding mixed powdery materials having a mixing degree measured by the sensor out of a predetermined range from a molded product obtained by compression molding mixed powdery materials having a mixing degree within the predetermined range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: KIKUSUI SEISAKUSHO LTD.
    Inventors: Naoshige Kitamura, Jun Oyama, Masaoki Murakoshi
  • Patent number: 11169024
    Abstract: An echelle spectrometer includes a slit opening for incoming light, a collimator which collimates a diverging beam of light generated through the slit, a reflective echelle grating which disperses the collimated light along a first dimension; a cross-disperser which disperses at least a portion of the collimated light in a second dimension orthogonal to the first dimension to create a two-dimensional spectral field-of-view; and an imaging system which images the two-dimensional spectral field-of-view onto a detector; wherein the imaging system comprises primary, secondary, and tertiary tilted mirrors, where each of the tilted mirrors comprises a freeform, rotationally non-symmetric surface shape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2021
    Assignees: University of Rochester, PerkinElmer Health Sciences Canada, Inc.
    Inventors: Jannick Rolland-Thompson, Aaron Bauer, Dennis Yates, Mahsa Farsad
  • Patent number: 11162842
    Abstract: The invention relates to an optical system, to a spectrometer device comprising such optical system and to a method to operate such an optical system comprising an entrance aperture for entering primary light containing both a first, lower wavelength range and a second, higher wavelength range into said optical system, a grating for spectral dispersion of the primary light beam into a first fan of diffracted light within the first wavelength range and a primary zero order light beam, a mirror element suitably positioned to reflect the primary zero order light beam back as secondary light beam to the grating where it is dispersed into a second fan of diffracted light within the second wavelength range, a detector arrangement with detectors, an absorber element to be reversibly placed within the primary zero order light beam, and a filter element to be reversibly placed within the primary light beam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECH ANALYTICAL SCIENCE GMBH
    Inventors: Marzena Beata Rak, Rainer Simons
  • Patent number: 11131608
    Abstract: A target analyte is extracted out of a sample fluid in a sample fluid passage by diffusing the target analyte through a supported liquid membrane to a product fluid passage. Extraction of the target analyte is accelerated by applying an electric field across and perpendicular to the supported liquid membrane with electrodes. Passage of selected ions across an exchange membrane extending between one of the electrodes and the supported liquid membrane is inhibited.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Viktor Shkolnikov, Anita Rogacs
  • Patent number: 11112231
    Abstract: A reflectometer or ellipsometer integrated with a processing tool includes a source module configured to generate a input beam, and a first mirror arranged to receive the input beam. The first mirror is configured to collimate the input beam and direct the input beam toward an aperture plate. The aperture plate has at least two apertures. One of the at least two apertures is arranged to define a measurement beam from a portion of the input beam, and one of the at least two apertures is arranged to define a reference beam from a portion of the input beam. An optical element is arranged within an optical path of the reference beam and outside an optical path of the measurement beam. The optical element is configured to direct the reference beam toward a third mirror. A second mirror is arranged to receive the measurement beam and focus the measurement beam through a window and onto a surface of a sample. The window forms part of a chamber of the processing tool and the sample is disposed within the chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventor: Guoheng Zhao
  • Patent number: 11114816
    Abstract: A structured light system may include a semiconductor laser to emit light and a diffractive optical element to diffract the light such that one or more diffracted orders of the light, associated with forming a structured light pattern, are transmitted by the diffractive optical element. The diffractive optical element may be arranged such that the light is to be incident on the diffractive optical element at a substantially non-normal angle of incidence. The substantially non-normal angle of incidence may be designed to cause the diffractive optical element to transmit a zero-order beam of the light outside of a field of view associated with the diffractive optical element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: Lumentum Operations LLC
    Inventors: Vincent V. Wong, Yonghong Guo, Jay A. Skidmore
  • Patent number: 11092494
    Abstract: A spectrometer, such as a Raman spectrometer, adapted for analyzing a complex sample is provided. In an example implementation, the spectrometer may be able to determine one or more spectral characteristics of an inner subsurface layer or region of a complex sample (e.g., contents of a container). In one embodiment, for example, A spectrometer includes an excitation source configured to provide an excitation signal; an optical system configured to direct the excitation signal toward a sample and receive a spectroscopy signal from the sample. The optical system may include a spatial filter configured to separate or isolate at least one first portion of the spectroscopy signal from at least one second portion of the spectroscopy signal and pass the at least one first portion of the spectroscopy signal. A detector is configured to determine at least one spectral feature of the at least one first portion of the spectroscopy signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2021
    Inventors: Keith T. Carron, Shane A. Buller, Mark A. Watson, Sean Patrick Woodward
  • Patent number: 11085821
    Abstract: A spectrometer and a spectral detection and analysis method implemented by the spectrometer. The spectrometer includes an optical device and a detection device. The optical device includes at least one light filter, each of which including at least two light filtering units, so that the optical device can emit at least two kinds of monochromatic light. The detection device includes at least one detector, each of which comprising at least two detection units facing at least two light filtering units in the corresponding light filter in a one-to-one relationship. The monochromatic light emitted from the light filtering unit is emitted along the direction perpendicular to the direction of the light emitting surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignee: BOE TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Xianqin Meng, Wei Wang, Jifeng Tan, Xiaochuan Chen, Xiandong Meng, Jian Gao, Fangzhou Wang
  • Patent number: 11067444
    Abstract: A spectroscope includes a light source, at least one static optical element for manipulating or structuring light, at least two adaptive optical elements and at least one detector. The at least two adaptive optical elements are configured to partition an optical function of spectral sorting from at least one of the following optical function: routing, attenuation, and/or encoding. The light source, the at least one static optical element, and the at least two adaptive optical elements are configured to direct light from the light source into first and second distinct light channels, the first light channel containing a sample to be analyzed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2021
    Inventor: Sean M. Christian
  • Patent number: 11060912
    Abstract: A multi-stage parallel spectroscopy system has a plurality of dispersion stages, with the output of one dispersion stage serving as input to the next dispersion stage. Each dispersion stage separates input radiation into respective spectral components along a respective dispersion axis. In embodiments, the dispersion axes for the dispersion stages are substantially parallel to each other. Thus, the disclosed systems may be considered single-axis parallel spectroscopy configurations, in contrast to cross-axis parallel spectroscopy configurations. An optical system disposed in an optical path between dispersion stages can spatially filter a set of wavelengths from the input to the next dispersion stage to increase spectral extinction without sacrificing throughput or parallel operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2021
    Assignee: UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK
    Inventors: Giuliano Scarcelli, Antonio Fiore
  • Patent number: RE49543
    Abstract: A fine particle measuring apparatus is provided. The fine particle measuring apparatus includes a detection unit configured to detect light emitted from a fine particle and a processing unit having a memory device storing instructions which when executed by the processing unit, cause the processing unit to calculate a corrected intensity value of the detected light and generate spectrum data based on the corrected intensity value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2023
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Nao Nitta